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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1945)
Weather FORECAST: Purely cloudy to nifht and Saturday with a fpvr irattered ihoweri. Llttlt change In temperature. Temp. High Pit Yesterday ...68 Lowe tt thii Morning 4S Prir. To I a. m., today 1.21 Vh The Mall Tilliuu " Want Ad Way Quick Results . At Small Coil Medford Tribune United Prais Full Leased Wire United Press Full Leased Wlia Fortieth Year MEDFORD, OREGON, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 1945' NO. 55. i in fo) 0 iv .. rfi mwmi UUJ Li "TPf AinVA LAST J1H second1aid IN 48 HOURS RMS CENTRALSECTION i12 Planes Lost in Tuesday Attack, "Good Results", City Still Burns. Guam, Saturday, May 26 (U.R) Five hundred Superfortresses blasted the central business dis trict and waterfront area of Tok yo with more than 4,000 tons of building-p 1 e r c i ng incendiary bombs early today in the second big-scale attack against the en emy's capital within 48 hours. Striking shortly after mid night night from medium alti tude, the mammoth air fleet heaped new destruction on the heart of the metropolis 'still smoking from Thursday morn ing's record-breaking raid by SO-plus B-29s. With the target area were Tokyo' piers, docks, wharves, warehouses, aircraft parts plants, machine tool factories, the Gin za Japan's Broadway and the main business area which con tains most of the capital's earthquake-proof office and govern ment buildings. The 20th air force announced In Washington that 12 Superfort resses were lost to enemy action In the May 23 raid. The Japa nese claimed 27 were shot down nd 30 damaged. "Good results were obtained" Thursday, the announcement said, and preliminary photo graphic reports showed that -3.2 square miles or approximately 85,000,000 square feet were burned out or damaged In the Shinagawa small-industry dis trict of Tokyo. Fires raged at least 12 hours. For this morning's attack, MaJ. Gen. Curtis Lemay's 21st bomber command selected a heavier type Incendiary bomb than the one used in previous raids on Tokyo and Nagoya. The new jellied-gasoline bomb is ca pable of piercing heavy struc tures. The target area under fire to day is as famous In its own way as Broadway in New York, the loop in Chicago and Market Street in San Francisco. Here are located extensive military storage sites, factories producing electronic equipment and such noted structures as the luxurious Imperial hotel planned by the American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. The area is bounded on the north by the Imperial Palace grounds and on the south by the Shinagawa industrial section. Vancouver, Wash., May 25 (U.R) Three pot lines were closed today at the Vancouver plant of the Aluminum Company of America by an unauthorized sit' down strike of production workers protesting refusal of the company to remove a foreman. The Aluminum Workers Union, AFL. called the strike but the Aluminum Trades Coun cil, made up of the seven craft unions at the plant, stayed on the Job and attempted to keep two remaining pot-lines operat ing. A statement aulhorized by the management and the Aluminum Trades Council said the offer was made to consider the charges against the foreman Ithrough regular, channels set up to consider such grievances but the production workers refused. The strike call followed. WAR FRAUD CHARGED Chicago. May 25 U.R The Federal Grand Jury today in dieted three persons on charges of conspiracy to defraud the gov ernment in connection with Douglas Aircraft Co. tool con tracts. BLIND VET SEES TRUMAN Washington. May 25 (U.R) President Truman today dis cussed army rehabilitation prob lems with three army officers. Including a blind veteran of the Normandy invasion, who was brought to his office by Sen. Joseph C O iUbnae); JQ, 9. President's j ' , j;' President Harry S. Truman greets his 92-year-old mother, Mrs. Martha Truman, as she arrived in wasmng ton by plane from Independence, Mo, to spend Mother's Day with her son. With them Is the Presidents sis- ter, Mary Truman. . E INE BY L Washington, May 25 (U.R) "Rep. - Clair Errgle, D., CbI'.t charged today that officials of the War Production board de liberately issued and enforced an illegal order closing the na tion's gold mines. The order was enforced In spite of an opinion from WPB lawyers that WPB had no authority to issue or retain it on manpower considerations alone, Engle said. He described the order, L-208, issued nearly three years ago, as an "arbitrary and brutal action" which has given gold operators grounds for large claims against the government. He also condemned WPB for its "casual disregard of property rights" which he said was docu mented by Donald M. Nelson when as chairman of the War Production board he gave the following testimony on the order before a Senate committee on Small Business: "When we did it we believed It was the right thing to do," Nelson said. "We didn't study It. Sometimes the only way you can get the right evidence is from occurrences after the fact." T VISIT PORTLAND Portland, May 25 (U.R) Pres ident Truman will not be a Port land visitor during his visit to the Pacific northwest after ad dressing the United Nations se curity conference at San Fran Lpw Wallace of Portland. Democratic national committee man for Oregon, announced to day. Wallace received a telegram from the president's chief admin istrative assistant stating, Ke grct that the president will be unable to stop at Portland dur ing his trip." President Truman will, how ever, be a guest of Gov. Mon C Walgren of Washington after his San Francisco address. LIEUTENANT HAS E rwmit Mav 25 (U.R) Second Lt. Bert Davis, 23, Roswell, N. M., kept his military bearing and lost a wife. Lorraine Davis was granted a divorce today when she said her husband refused to carry groceries for her because it was unbecoming oi cu nuu lary rank. Mother Flies to Washington Little Relief Due In Auto Go-Ahead Detroit, May 25 (U.R) Auto mobile makers answered the government bugle in the new car derby today, eager ,to race, but discouraged by the handi caps and the empty grandstands. The War Production board's long-awaited - authorization of passenger-car production begin ning July.! was greeted in of? ficial industrial' circles as offer"-' ing "no substantial improve ment" for either the industry or the car-hungry public. "This is a piece of paper," said George Romney, managing di rector of the Automotive Coun cil for War Production an industry-wide agency, "it doesn't provide release from the bonds of government restrictions and it won't put cars In the garages of the , people who really need them." SALES OFF S Ft. Douglas. Utah, May 25 (U.R) Removal of restrictions on the purchase of liquor by mili tary personnel was announced today by MaJ. Gen. William E. Shedd. commanding general of the Ninth Service Command here. Beginning June 1st. military personnel will be restricted In the hours of liquor purchase only by current local, state and fed eral laws. Announcing the new regula tion for both army and navy personnel, with concurrence by the commander of the western sea frontier. Gen. Shedd pointed nut that beginning June 1 those in the armed forces will observe the same ml and regulations on liquor purchases as are ob served by civilians in the vari ous states of the command. Although state laws vary as to hours of closing and conditions of sale of Intoxicating liquors, military personnel have been subject to a uniform regulation The uniform regulation limited the time of purchase of bottled liquor and compelled them to vacate by midnight any estab lishment in which Intoxicating drinks were served. Washington, May 25 (U.R) White House Press Secretary Charles G. Ross today flatly de nied published reports that President Truman would meet Gen. Charles DeGaulle at San Francisco. BASEBALL National PhllarfMnhia 3 7 1 Chicago 4 16 1 Wyatt, Kennedy. Lucier and Mancuso; Wyse and Rice. American St. Louis 9 12 0 Boston 0 8 0 Pntter And Manmso: Wilson Juijnon ana ubiduk, Acme Telephoto) 2 YEAR SENTENCE ''.Vtakliulml Mnv 26 Uj6 ITnttaa nrYiirruttn T.mHpr .Tnhn W. McCormack, Mass., said to day that the case oi a zz-year- nlH armv nrlvnte. sentenced to two years at hard labor for strik ing nine Nazi war prisoners, is gelling tne personal ancnuuii ui Undersecretary of War Robert P. Patterson. The soldier is Pvt. Joseph Mc Gee, Worcester, Mass., who was dishonorably discharged and sen tenced to two years at hard la bor after a court martial found him guilty of striking nine uer man war prisoners somewhere in France. McGee had been as signed to guard the prisoners while they were woriung on a road. After receiving a copy of the court-martial from McGee's fam- iiv Mpfftrmapk . labeled the court martial proceedings "ridic iilniis " and sent an immediate protest to Army Judge Advocate- General M. C. uramer. The court martial proceedings, in which most of the testimony was from the nine Nazis, alleged that McGee struck of kicKea each of them. Tt gIoi minted the nrisnners as saying that they were "humili- tH" nr "insuitea dv me al leged act, but that none was seriously Iniured or requirea medical treatment. McGee pleaded not guilty but declined to testify in his own defense. FRENCH AIR ACE HELD NAZI AIDE Washington. Mav 25 (U.R) The Department of Justice to day announced the arrest In New Vnrlr Citv nf Paul Jean Marie Cavaillcz, 43, former French air force officer, on charges oi serv- Inff o o flprmnn affent. J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investi gation, said Cavaillcz, former Fronrh Wnrlrl War I aCP was In Washington doing research as late as last March 27. rill agents took him Into custody at a fashionable New York hotel, the announcement said. Hoover said Cavalllez endeav ored to gain access to various plants, producing confidential electronics devices for the gov ernment. He planned to con tinue working for the German intelligence service even after his country's surrender, Hoover added. SNOW IN MOSCOW London, May 25 (U.R) A Moscow dispatch of the Ex change Telegraph said snow fell in the Russian capital today. It said this spring has been the T 'LAFFEY' TH o Destroyer Rak' jicide Planes, Pro vf.;;S Sea Saga Like 'Franklin.' Aboard Adm. Turner's Flag ship, April 25 (U.R) Brave sail ors died strapped to their gun seats i.i the agony of the United States destroyer Laffey, another great ship that refused to be sunk. The gunners fired until they were swallowed up in the sear ing flames of exploding Japanese suicide planes and bombs. In two hours the 2,200-ton de stroyer was hit by six suicide planes and two bombs. Other bombs came close enough to in crease the damage. The ship's rudder was jammed to the left by a bomb, and the vessel sped dizzily in circle during the raging battle. The en gineers Judged the speed needed by the sound and intensity of the gunfire. The skipper, Cmdr. Frederick J. Becton of Hot Springs, Ark., uttered these words: "I'll never abandon ship as long as a gun will fire." And so the Laffey ' came through the third mass Japanese suicide attack on ships off Okina wa, nursing serious wounds but still proudly afloat. . The saga of the Laffey's two hours of agony will stand out among the tea epics of the war along with other great episodes such as that of the Franklin. It was unquestionably the most savage and spectacular ac tion in which an American de stroyer has participated in the entire war. Jn no other part of the world would the enemy hurl six screaming war planes In flaming suicide dives onto a ship. This 2,200 ton "can" absorbed all the Japanese could give that' day with tremendous heroism and unparalleled fighting perform ance. The gallant destroyer stayed at her post until the last enemy planes had been destroyed by gunfire or American planes. Vhen the last fire was out it was found that there were 31 of her officers and men listed as killed or missing in action. . An other 60 were wounded. Seattle, May 25 Her hull apd superstructure grotesquely twist ed by impact of six hurtling Jap suicide planes and two bombs, the United States destroyer Laf fey slid into the harbor here to day, en route under her own power, to a shipyard to patch her battle wounds. AS BOSS OF REA Washington, May 25 (U.R) Sen. Henrik Shipstcad, R., Minn,, today opened a fight against con firmation of Secretary of Agri culture Claude A. Wlckard as Rural Electrification adminis trator. Shipstead, leader of a fight to take REA out of the Agriculture department, said Wlckard "Is un fit to be administrator of REA." He said that Wickard'i term as a cabinet officer many im portant farm functions of gov ernment were taken out of the Agriculture department. Pres ident Truman announced this week that ho Intended to nomin ate Wickard to the REA post. Nemesis of Hitler Returns to Office Starnbcrg, Germany, May 25 (U.R) The only man who ever succeeded in sending Adolf Hit ler to prison was back In politi cal office today after 12 years of virtual exile. He Is wizened, 70-year-old Martin Dresser, prosecutor, who helped arrest Hitler after the Munich beer hall putsch In and obtained sentences up to five years for the Nazi leader Ad aeyeral oi hit follower, "Gross Mismanagement" Is Charged; New Secretary Asked to Correct Situation Washington, May 25 (U.R) Sen. James E. Murray. D., Mont., today called on Sen. Clinton P. Anderson, D., N. M.. slated to become secretary of agriculture, to correct the "gross mismanage ment and shortsightedness" of agencies handling sugar. - The Office of Price Adminis tration, it was learned, has In formed industrial sugar users bakers, candymakers, soft drink manufacturers that they will get no more than half as much sugar in the last half of 1945 as they got in the same 1944 period. Murray, chairman of the Sen ate Small Business committee asserted that reports to his com mittee "indicate that the prin cipal agencies concerned with the food sitnfction WPB, FEA, CCC, Agriculture, State, War and Navy departments have been extremely reckless in han dling sugar." ' "According to reports," he said, "the present sugar short age Is due to mismanagement shortsightedness, and repeated blunders on the part of officials of these agencies. - The OPA report to industrial SUgar users indicated that their supplies for the last half of the year might be reduced even more than SO per cent under what they received in the last half of 1944. They will be limited in any case, it was said, to about 40 per cent of the amount of sugar they used in the compar- aoie period of 1941. Industry representatives have complained to the House Food Investigating committee, head ed by Anderson, that sugar al lotments already are dangerously skimpy and that further cuts would force some firms out of business. Murray called on Anderson to bring about postponement of sugar allocations until he has assumed office and can Investi gate requirements oT government claimant agencies. 1.21 IN. Vcsterday'a 1.21 Inches rain was next to the highest ever rec orded in the valley for any 24 houh period during this time of year, and highest amount for any 24 hours since the first of this year, according to statistics reported by the Medford weath er bureau. Highest amount of rain was 1.24 inches which fell on May 24 and 25 in 1942, it was reported. The present rainy period be gan May 9, the records show and every day since with the excep tion of May 11 and May 21, it has rained In varying amounts from a trace to the 1.21 Inches which poured down yesterday and last night. The continued rain has pre vented the cutting of hay and retarded sprayings, according to Roy Rogers, meteorologist and frost forecaster now winding up the season's work here. ,12th Army Group Ilqrs., Ger many, May 25 (U.R) Gen. Omar N. Bradley looked through Hitler's front window at Berch tesgaden at the breath-taking view of the Bavaarlan Alps, shook his head and said: "If I had a living room like this to sit in, . I wouldn't go around looking for trouble." Bradley visited Berchtesgaden in the course of a two-day tour of southern Germany during which he saw some of the coun Vy Ivj axmiei bad won. - WAR BULLETINS Manila, May 25. (U.R) The Mindanao fighting reached the mopping-up stage today after two American forces linked in the heart of the island to split it lengthwise. POST WAR VIEWS OF TRUMAN TOLD San Francisco, May 25 U.R) Secretary of State Edward R, Stettinius, Jr., returned today to the United Nations conference and immediately met with other members of the American dele gation to give them a "fill in" on his talks with President Truman. The secretary was in Washing ton for two days, during which he canvassed the many postwar European problems in talks with Mr. Truman and with state de partment officials who have been handling those problems in Stettinius' absence. Stettinius was believed to have brought word from Mr. Truman that the United States, along with Britain, Russia and China, will stand pat against any "softening" of their veto power in the proposed world organiza tion. These four countries, in talks here prior to Stettinius' return, had made it clear that they were ready to reject demands of the "little" United Nations for lib eralization of the Yalta voting formula for the proposed secur ity council. SEEK NEW POWER Rome, May 25 (U.R) Alclde de Gasperi, head of the powerful Christian Democrat party, open ed the battle for control of the new Italian government today with a declaration of his rcadl ness to fight against the appoint ment of a Socialist to succeed Premier Ivanoe Bonomi. Bonomi's resignation was ex pected to be announced within a few days, depending largely on the attitude of allied authori ties. Members of the government and of the six leading political parties have Just returned from a series of conferences with Italian partisan leaders in north ern Italy, where an agreement in principle was reached on the need for forming a new govern ment. The only question to be decid ed at the all-party meetings open ing in Rome this week-end is the personnel of the new cabinet KURILE ISLANDS U. S. Headquarters. North Pa cific, May 20 (Delayed) U.R) A U. S. naval task force shelled Japanese Installations on the cast coast of Paramushiro In the fog- shrouded Kurile Islands for 30 minutes at dusk today. Japanese bombers took off as the warship turned to sail trom Suribachl bay, but heavy ami aircraft fire drove them away before they could do any dam age. There was no return fire from enemy shore batteries. High ex-J plosive shells poured Into build ings and ammunition dumps, set ting fires and touching off one explosion after another. Washington, May 25 (U.R) War Production Chief J. A. Krug today urged war workers to re main on the Job Memorial day, May 10. "Military needs remain too acute to allow any let-up in pro duction." he said. "We cannot IIord to lest." JAP RESISTANCE SOUTHERN FRONT Marines Seal Up Caves Out side Shuri; Tokyo Reports Base Raid. Guam, Saturday, May 26 .R) Grenade-throwns nnrhu systematically sealed off Jap anese caves In fierce hand-to-hand fighting outside Shuri to day while army troops shattered oreanized resistant southeastern Okinawa front be yond Yonabaru. JaDanese announced wifhmtf Allied confirmation that special suicide troons of the corps had "landed" presumably oy paracnute on two American held Blr field. Thlir.riav nlahfr and blew up U. S. installations. aircrart and munitions depots. An Imperial Headquarter! communique said a coordinated Kamikaze suicide plane attack was carried out against a great neei or American naval and merchant vessels Ivlne off nvi. nawa. "The Alr-Borna Ttnlt." .M the Japanese enmmiinfnn "a- achieving great war results by throwing the enemy Into confu sion." ,i Predict Landing Tokyo . Predicted AmeHran troops soon would attempt a innaing on Amami island, 115 miles northeast of Okinawa and IBS miles south of Japan proper.' Yesterday the enemv said 400 American transports and craft of various sizes and classes were lying off the island. Tenth Army Ground Forces have clamped a half -circle around Shuri, stubbornly-resist ing fortress city Invested by the First Marines and 77th and 96th Infantry. A stoutly-held ravine at the edge of the city held up the Leathernecks' advance. Here the marines, under cover of dark ness prowled boldly through en emy defenses, hurling grenadei and "Molotov Cocktails" Into the entrances. Marine Pfc. Carl L. Sellers and a three-man patrol, In a dar ing night foray, invaded the ra vine with dynamite satchel charges and grenades. They sealed four caves containing ap proximately 100 Japanese. Shuri and Naha were threat ened from the rear by the dis organization of Japanese de fenses south and southwest of Yonabaru. In Shuri. the ancient stone castle, built by Japanese Sho guns nearly four centuries ago, was under fire from naval gun of American warships. U. S. ar tillery laced the Shuri breast works with shell bursts. The Japanese communique Identified the air fields under at tack as the "north" and "cen tral," presumably Yontan and Katena. captured In the first few days of the American invasion of Okinawa. T PROVES MYSTERY Denver, Colo., May 25 U.R) More than' 4,500 workers at the Gates Rubber Company plant were Idle today as the result of an unexplained work stoppage. The walkout, which began when 157 mill room workers left thin lnh Wednesday, had brought a virtually complete shutdown of the plant today. John Gates, executive secre tary of the company, said he did not know the cause of the walk out. A representative of the Uni ted Rubber Workers of America (CIO) said no strike vote had been taken. Seventh War Loin Drive "E" Sales to Date 6207,461 Quota 61.067.000 Total Sales to Date 3579,320 Quota $2.087.000
